Downfall Director Tackles New Nazi Drama

A decade after “Downfall” explored the last days of Adolf Hitler, director Oliver Hirschbiegel is set to helm Lucky Bird Pictures’ “Georg Elser,” a biopic of the resistance fighter who attempted to assassinate Hitler in a Munich beer hall in 1939.

The story follows Elser from his early years in the Swabian Alps to his last days at the Dachau concentration camp, where he was killed shortly before the end of the war. Elser nearly changed world history with his attempt, but Hitler left the venue earlier than expected.

Christian Friedel (“The White Ribbon”) will play Elser, Katharina Schuttler (“Generation War”) will portray his girlfriend Elsa and Burghart Klaussner (“The White Ribbon”) will play Arthur Nebe, the head of the Criminal Police of the Reich Defense Office.

Shooting began yesterday and will continue through until early September. Locations include Berlin, the province of South Tyrol in North Italy, and the south German states of Baden-Wurttemberg and Bavaria.